New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio shovels the sidewalk in front of his house in Brooklyn. / Seth Wenig, AP

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

It's a new year and there's a new mayor in New York City, and apparently a new world order when it comes to winter storms.

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio shoveled the snow in front of his Brooklyn house on Friday, in what was his third day on the job as mayor.

Clearing the sidewalks of snow is no small matter for mayors, since all politics are local. Just ask Michael Bloomberg, de Blasio's predecessor, who took massive grief after Gotham's streets weren't cleared fast enough after a post-Christmas storm in 2010.

De Blasio tweeted a picture of himself shoveling the sidewalk in Park Slope. He and his family apparently haven't moved in yet to Gracie Mansion, the official mayor's residence. Josh Robin, a reporter for NY1, posted a picture of de Blasio (bent over his shovel) and this reference to Bloomberg and the billionaire's townhouse: "Never saw this on E. 79th folks."

De Blasio also noted that New Yorkers can keep track of snow removal through the PlowNYC feature on NYC.gov.